


No. 6 Please… “Get it out” (Lancelot)

by Onehelluvapilot



Series: Whumptober 2020 [7]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Supernatural (TV) Fusion, Dehydration, Gen, Heat Stroke, Hurt Lancelot (Merlin), Hurt/Comfort, Khan Worms (Supernatural), Whump, Whumptober 2020, heat exhaustion, medic merlin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-06
Updated: 2020-10-06
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:02:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,497
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26857882
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Onehelluvapilot/pseuds/Onehelluvapilot
Summary: Lancelot gets infected by the Khan Worm Variant from Supernatural and the only way to get it out is rapid dehydration.
Relationships: Lancelot & Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Lancelot & Merlin (Merlin)
Series: Whumptober 2020 [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1952440
Comments: 4
Kudos: 18





	No. 6 Please… “Get it out” (Lancelot)

“Lance?” Arthur shouted, rushing over to where the other hunter knelt on the floor of the brewery where they’d managed to corner the Khan-worm-infected man. The suspect had collapsed from extreme dehydration and died shortly after attacking Lancelot, trying to bite him and drink his blood like a vampire.

“The Khan worm got into me,” he explained, eyes closed and looking like he was trying not to be sick. Arthur imagined that having a twelve inch worm slither down your throat might make one feel like vomiting. Never mind the fact that he knew he would get dried up and die if they couldn’t get it out of him.

“Shit,” the Man of Letters cursed. “Shit. Okay. Let’s get you back to the bunker and we can look up how to get it out of you without… how to get it out of you. You’re gonna be fine.” They called Merlin as soon as they got to the car, and he promised to start researching it right away. Meanwhile, Lancelot could already start to feel himself getting thirsty. He drank the cup of melted ice from the cupholder, and was about to ask Arthur to pull into the next McDonalds so he could get a cup of coffee, and probably a smoothie and a milkshake too, when Merlin called back.

“Don’t let him drink anything,” the secretary said as soon as Arthur picked up. “I think I’ve figured out how to get the worm out of him. If he’s dehydrated, and we give him perhaps a touch of heat exhaustion, it’ll think he’s used up and abandon him so it doesn’t die itself.”

“So I should crank the heat up?” he asked, already doing so. Lancelot looked over at him unhappily, but didn’t question it.

“Yeah. Be careful though. As he gets thirstier, he might get, well, aggressive about getting something to drink.”

“I’ll keep an eye on him,” Arthur assured him, receiving another strange look from his passenger.

“And Arthur?” Merlin asked, sounding worried. “Get back here fast.”

“I will,” he promised, before hanging up. Lancelot was looking at him, clearly expecting an update. He related the information, leaving out the part about him potentially being unable to control himself when the thirst set in. Instead, he added, “He did say it’ll probably be pretty uncomfortable.”

“I’ve probably had worse,” Lancelot said, though his mouth was already starting to get uncomfortably dry and he wished he’d gotten his milkshake before Merlin had called. Could he use chapstick for his lips, or did that count as moisturizing, he wondered. The car was starting to heat up since Arthur had turned the heater on, and just for good measure he’d added the seat warmers too. “How long until we’re back in Kansas?” He was usually the one that kept track of driving time and routes, but his head was aching already and it was making it hard to think.

“Probably five or six hours?” Arthur guessed. His own time estimation skills were notoriously terrible though, so he pulled his phone out of his pocket and handed it over to Lancelot. “Here, check it on google maps if you want.”

“5 hours, 23 minutes, but given how much you speed, we’ll probably be there in four hours thirty,” Lancelot replied after a minute. He tried to hand it back to Arthur, who kept his hands on the wheel.

“Keep it, so if Merlin texts you can check it,” he replied. “I’ve also got that game with the fish that Gwen likes, if you want.”

“Don’t think I don’t know you’re just trying to distract me,” Lancelot said, but it was just a second before the soothing music from the fish game began to play. It was a few minutes before it shut off again. “You know, a game full of water might not be the best thing right now,” he explained, setting the phone down and closing his eyes.

"You can download something else, if you want," Arthur suggested, but Lance shook his head. "Alright. Just try not to think about it then." He put his foot down a little harder on the gas.

When they arrived home at the bunker, four hours and three minutes later, Merlin was waiting for them in the garage. Percival was there too, with a not-so-concealed pair of handcuffs hanging at his belt. Arthur stared at them. Did they really think they’d be necessary? Lancelot hadn’t been aggressive at all yet.

The hunter in question stumbled as he was getting out of the car, holding onto the door to keep himself upright. He’d been getting paler and his breathing rougher throughout the drive, and the only time he’d spoken was to beg to have the seat warmers turned off. It was a little worrying, how bad he’d apparently gotten so quickly. The previous victim had taken a week to succumb, as far as they could tell. That Lancelot had gotten so bad so quickly was either a good sign about the effectiveness of dehydration for driving out the worm, or a really bad one.

“Woah, you good?” Percival asked, stepping forward a foot but not coming too close. Lancelot nodded, stopping only when he noticed the handcuffs. Merlin tracked his gaze, and winced when he saw what it had landed on.

“It’s just a precaution,” he explained.

“No, that’s good,” Lance said with a shake of his head. He held up his wrists, close together, for Percival to cuff. Now that it was offered, though, the large hunter seemed hesitant. “Please,” he resorted to begging. “I don’t want to hurt any of you.” Percy nodded, understanding that impulse, and stepped forward to handcuff Lancelot before leading him down into the bunker with a hand placed firmly on his shoulder. They took him to one of the sleeping quarters near the infirmary, where the heat had already been cranked up and a dehumidifier was running in the corner. It felt like a desert in there, and Lancelot began sweating even as they sat him down in a chair beside the radiator. He closed his eyes and tried to remind himself that this was necessary, and that he could handle a few hours of discomfort if it meant saving his life. It quickly grew to be more than just uncomfortable, but hey, at least the pained tears that escaped his eyes would help him dry out faster.

“You’re gonna be okay,” Merlin reassured him, mistaking his distress for fear.

“I just… I want this thing  _ out _ of me,” he cried. “Please… get it  _ out _ .” One of his tears trickled down towards his mouth and he desperately tried to lick it, but Merlin wiped it away before he could. He had to jump back away from him as Lance surged forward, a growl on his lips. The restraints caught him before he could sink his teeth into his friend’s neck, and it was a full minute before he sagged back down into the chair, bent forward with his head hanging over his knees. “I’m sorry. God, I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Merlin said, but he kept his distance Lancelot’s skin was starting to crack around the corners of his mouth and eyes, which he now pressed closed in a clear attempt to keep them from drying out. Merlin, figuring he had a safe break, pulled his water bottle out to have a drink. He nearly spit it out when he looked over to see Lancelot staring at him. The crinkling sound of the plastic must’ve alerted him. Quickly, he hid the bottle before Lance snapped the handcuffs in his desperation to get to it. The worm-infected hunter surged forward, and at first he thought he was trying to break free before his shoulders started heaving. A bit of green bile dripped out of his mouth as Merlin scrambled to shove the trash can in front of his face. The khan worm slithered the rest of the way up his throat before plopping into the bucket. Since it was just him and Lance in the room, he used his powers to squash the parasite before it could move.

Meanwhile, the previously-infected hunter just groaned and stayed slumped over. His forehead was warm when Merlin touched it, helping him lift his head up so he could drink a little water. He slowly seemed to regain some strength, and Merlin made sure he could sit upright and hold the water bottle to sip before he left to go get Percival to help move him over to the infirmary and instruct Leon to bring some ice packs. It didn’t take very long for them to get Lancelot settled with a IV, some gatorade to drink, and some cold cloths packed around his major arteries to help get his temperature down. He was restless, but soothed a little as Merlin spread some aloe over his cracked skin.

“There, that feels okay, right?”

He simply nodded, throat still too dry to speak.


End file.
